


no regrets

by MidnightBlueMoon



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Implied/Referenced Sex, Jughead Jones Is Not Aromantic, Jughead Jones is Not Asexual, M/M, Morning After, Multi, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-01
Packaged: 2019-05-16 20:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14818484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightBlueMoon/pseuds/MidnightBlueMoon
Summary: The groan from behind her makes her brain freeze. Slowly turning around, Veronica is faced with the reality of seeing two dark eyes staring into hers.





	no regrets

**Author's Note:**

> @everything-jeronica on Tumblr inspired this with an edit. So this ship has consumed my life and I'll go to hell for it.

The sun is creeping in through the open window. The air blowing in isn't exactly warm, but there is something – _someone_ warm next to Veronica, so she doesn't feel cold exactly.

She naturally buries her face in the pillow, trying to catch some more sleep when the reality hits her.

 _Someone_ is lying next to her and she is suddenly very aware of the fact that she is only wearing a shirt.

Her brain goes straight to panic mode, causing her to sit up too fast, her head spins a little.

Blinking, she sees the ugly walls of the backrooms of the Whyte Wyrm. The window is open and Veronica thanks whoever had that idea, because she is damn sure that this open window is the only reason why it doesn't smell like booze and cigarette smoke.

The groan from behind her makes her brain freeze. Slowly turning around, she is faced with the reality of seeing two dark eyes staring into hers.

Sweet Pea seems to be just as prepared as she is at this moment – not at all. Veronica isn't sure what to say and her brain is still panicking, but she tries to smile at Sweet Pea.

“Hi?” It comes out small, a little wobbly and Veronica can feel the blush creep up her neck. Her instinct screams at her to stop looking at Sweet Pea, so she does, letting her eyes drop down.

Her brain takes this moment to note that she is still sitting next to him while he is laying out on the mattress, with his hair messy from sleep and his arm stretched across the empty spot she has left next to him.

And he's shirtless. Very shirtless, and Veronica isn't sure if he's wearing underwear at all, which makes this so much more awkward. Sweet Pea's brain seems to notice the same thing if his hand pulling the sheets closer is anything to go by.

“Uh... morning?” Sweet Pea's voice wobbles a little too, and it makes Veronica breathe a little easier. It's just as awkward for him, she thinks. Sweet Pea's voice sounds raspy when he asks: “Is that my shirt?”

Veronica looks down on herself, but she already knows what she is going to see. She's wearing a light grey shirt – even though she is sure it has been dark grey at some point – and if she was standing up, it would probably reach her thighs. Her brain seems to think that this is the right time to let the memories of last night come back.

 

_Sweet Pea's lips on hers. His laughter rumbling against the skin of her stomach, his teeth on her shoulder._

_His hands brushing her hair away from her face, the hitch in his breath when she bites into his neck, sucking bruises._

 

The memory makes Veronica look at Sweet Pea's neck, seeing the dark mark just underneath his tattoo.

Noticing her gaze, Sweet Pea looks a little confused. He brushed a hand over his neck, pulling back when he accidentally presses onto the bruise. “Son of a _bitch_ ”, he curses, but there's a gasp in it, one that Veronica knows for sure she has heard before.

It makes a shudder run down her spine. “Sorry?”, she offers, but there's no real apology in it. Sweet Pea looks at her and she knows he knows that, too. “You going to kiss it better, princess?”

Veronica smirks at him. “Are you sure that you can take it?”

She sees the fire in Sweet Pea's eyes flare up, the challenge making all the awkwardness fly out of the window. Without sitting up, he wraps a hand around her hips and pulls her back, forcing her to lay down again. It makes the memories rush back to her mind.

 

_Sweet Pea's hands, rough from working all his life, on her hips, pressing her body against his. His breath on her shoulder, her hands in his hair. The way his fingers curl around her tighs._

 

Veronica can't help but laugh when he pulls her back onto the mattress, but when she hits it and suddenly Sweet Pea is leaning over her, her breath gets stuck in her throat. Sweet Pea's eyes are dark, but there is a vulnerability underneath that makes her stomach flip. Sliding a hand up his neck, Veronica pulls him down, carefully. It's a sweet kiss, just their lips pressing together. She can feel Sweet Pea’s hand on her hip, curling around it, making her feel weirdly safe.

The kiss doesn't last long. When Sweet Pea pulls back, his eyes stay closed and Veronica just looks at him for a second. She tries to find the anger she saw in him that first time she met him, but there is nothing there to find. There is only sweetness and Veronica's stomach flips again. When Sweet Pea opens his eyes and smirks at her, she rolls her eyes at him with a smile. “What?”

He grins. “I think that's not enough. You still have a debt to repay.” Veronica's mouth actually drops open for a second, before she starts laughing. He's such a _dork_ and she actually had no idea.

“Believe me, I always pay my debts.” Her smile fades a little, as she realizes what she's promising here. But then she realizes, that she actually wants to repay him in kisses. 

Sweet Pea seems to realize the same thing. “Don't promise something you can't keep.”

He draws back a little, but Veronica leans up and brings her face close to his again. “I'm not.”

Her voice sounds way softer than she thought it would be, but it works either way. The walls Sweet Pea has started to draw up, drop again and there is a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “Good, because it's never good to step on a snake.” It could be a threat, but it's not, Veronica realizes. He's trying to lighten the mood and it's actually working. She smiles at him before she rests her head on the pillow. Now that this crisis has been figured out, all she wants to do is sleep again.

“Can we go back to sleep? It's too early. It's probably only 10 am.” Sweet Pea actually rolls his eyes at her, but he settles back into the mattress, one arm still curled around her. Veronica's head rests slightly against his shoulder.

They are silent for a moment before Sweet Pea talks again. “You know we're gonna have this talk again when Jones wakes up?” Veronica groans and buries her head in Sweet Pea's chest. Which is very, very naked. But they have more urgent matters at hand, so, for now, she can't really appreciate it. She can feel Sweet Pea's laugh rumble in his chest, feeling him curl a hand through her hair. “He'll freak out”, she mumbles against Sweet Pea's skin, causing him to calm down a little. “Who wouldn't?” 

It's said lightly, but Veronica knows it's anything but. Sighing, she pushes herself up an elbow, accidentally stabbing Sweet Pea in the stomach- “Sorry!”

After figuring out where to put her elbow, so she could lean over Sweet Pea, she looked at him. “Do you think, he will...” ... _regret this?_ The question gets stuck in her throat when she thinks about last night. About the way, Jughead kissed her. She doesn't want it to be something he will regret.

Swee Pea finishes the question for her. “Will he regret this? Probably. He seems pretty into the blonde one.” Veronica can see the unhappiness about that in his face, even though he doesn't voice it. The emotion mirrors her own – but she knows that Betty and Jughead are pretty much a match made in heaven. _Riverdale's Number #1 Couple._

She still wants him to pick them. And it's a little scary how easy it feels to refer to Sweet Pea and herself as “them”, but it is how she feels and Veronica never liked lying to herself.

 

“ _He_ is neither going to freak out nor regret this.”

The rumble of Jughead's voice almost gives her a heart attack. Flipping her head around so fast that she can hear her neck crack, she isn't prepared for Sweet Pea trying to sit up, causing her to tumble and almost face-plant into his stomach. When they finally untangle their limbs and can turn around properly, they are faced with a very much awake Jughead.

He looks a little sleepy, but his eyes are bright and Veronica knows Jughead too well by now to believe he was asleep.

“Were you awake this whole time?”, she asks. Jughead flops from his side onto his back and stares at the roof. “Maybe”, he admits. Veronica hears Sweet Pea whisper _son of a bitch_ , but it doesn't sound angry. It sounds rather appreciative. 

Veronica looks at Sweet Pea, who turns around and raises his eyebrow at her. She shrugs, not quite sure what they are talking – or not talking – about here. 

Looking back at Jughead, she thinks back to last night.

 

_Jughead's mouth on hers, his hands drawing patterns onto her skin afterward. His hands in Sweet Pea's hair, the way he has to stretch up to kiss him properly. The goosebumps on his skin when she brushes her hands down his sides. The hickeys Sweet Pea left along his spine._

 

Kicking off the covers, she crawls over to where Jughead is. It's not very sexy, but she can still feel Sweet Pea stare at her ass. She gives him a look, but he only smirks and shrugs at her. Rolling her eyes, Veronica settles next to Jughead onto the bed. He is still trying very hard not to look at her. 

“Jughead Jones”, she says softly, but there is no doubt in her voice, no room for argument. Jughead sighs and finally looks at her. His eyes look a little hopeful, but there is so much doubt – as if Sweet Pea and Veronica could just walk out of this room and leave him behind.

Veronica slides a hand up his chest, settling it on his shoulder. Leaning in, she sees Jughead's eyelids flutter closed. The moment her lips brush his softly, he presses upwards, sealing their lips together. It's still soft, but there is a desperation in it that wasn't in the kiss she shared with Sweet Pea this morning. Jughead's hand comes up, framing her face and brushing a thumb over her cheek. She feels safe and comforted kissing him. 

When they part and Veronica leans back, she feels Sweet Pea's presence next to her. His fingers trail down her spine, causing goosebumps to appear on her skin. Jughead looks from her to Sweet Pea and she smiles. “There is no reason we can't have this.” _Or is there?_

Jughead still looks doubtful, but Sweet Pea leans over him, resting his weight on his elbows and kissing him. Jughead's hands come up to encircle Sweet Pea's waist, pulling him in. It sends Veronica's blood rushing through her body, the memories of last night still very present.

When the boys part again, Jughead's eyes look a lot less doubtful than before, but Jughead Jones never fails to ask the most dangerous questions.

“So... what is this?” The question hangs in the room for a moment, heavy and important.

They all look at each other with the question marks written over their faces. _Do you want what I want? Do I know what I want?_

Veronica wants to keep this. This fragile thing between them, but she isn't sure if that is what they want. If it can work out.

Surprisingly, it's Sweet Pea who speaks up first. “I want to try... this.” He gestures between the three of them. “Whatever it is.”

It's not a real answer, but maybe they don't need to label this thing between them right now. Veronica purses her lips and nods slowly. “Me too.”

Jughead looks so relieved it pulls at Veronica’s heartstrings. “Me three.”

Sweet Pea smirks and breaks this careful atmosphere between them. “Good. Can we get back to kissing now? All this talking is nice, but-” 

Veronica doesn't find out what he wanted to say, because Jughead sits up and presses his mouth to Sweet Pea's, effectively shutting him up. Sweet Pea's hands grasp at Jughead's hips, holding him close. Veronica scoots over to make some room, which ends with her having a great view of the expanse of Jughead's back. And indeed, there are hickeys down his spine, her mind providing her with the memory of the sounds Jughead made last night when Sweet Pea sucked them into his skin. 

Before she can make up her mind whether she wants to leave her own hickeys too, a thundering knock slams against the door. It causes Sweet Pea and Jughead to break apart, both of them looking slightly annoyed.

“Get the fuck dressed! I gotta lock up – you better not made a mess.”

The person outside seems to know better than to open the door, which Veronica is really thankful for – she doesn't know who it is, but she does not want to face them right now.

“He's right”, she whispers. “We should get dressed and leave.” 

Sweet Pea pouts a little, which is why she kisses him. But never trust a Serpent – the second she is in his arm's reach, he pulls her onto his lap, successfully distracting her from this plan. 

When she breaks the kiss, Veronica is laughing. “Come on, you know we can't stay.” Sweet Pea sighs, but lets her stand up.

Veronica does so, looking for her clothes. She finds her pants somewhere near the door, lying in a pile with Jughead's shirt and Sweet Pea's belt. Throwing the clothes towards the boys makes them finally get up and start putting clothes on. They get dressed mostly in silence, but it's not awkward. Jughead rolls his eyes at Sweet Pea, who smirks and presses a kiss to Jughead's neck. Veronica is in the process of pulling her hair into a ponytail, when the door slams open, causing them all to jump and turn around. “You gotta get out now- Sweet Pea?!” 

Veronica has never seen a person as flabbergasted as Fangs Fogarty at that moment. But when he catches himself after a second, the smile on his face threatens to split it in half. “Oh my god.”

Sweet Pea lifts a threatening finger, but it would probably look more dangerous, if his belt wasn't dangling from the hops of his jeans and if his flannel was actually buttoned. “If you say one word-”

Fangs lets out a howling laugh. “One word? Mate, you'll never live this one down.” Before his friend can answer that, he's out the door, jumping down the stairs.

Sweet Pea looks half pained, half murderous, but Jughead just shrugs. “Seems like there goes secrecy.” But it's not mean, it's actually quite joking. Veronica thinks about what that means for her for a second – Hiram Lodge's daughter dating two Serpents, one of them being basically Serpent royalty. It sends a shiver down her spine because that is what people are going to see. But to her, they are not Serpents, they are Jughead and Sweet Pea. It's going to be okay, she thinks.

Jughead looks at her as if he knows what she is thinking and she smiles at him, a soft smile that feels strange on her face. He smiles back at her. “As if either of you boys could keep me a secret.”

Jugheads feigns an offended gasp, while Sweet Pea opens his mouth to protest, but Veronica just laughs at them, walking to the door. She opens it and turns around again, facing her half-dressed boys.

“Pop's in two hours? I need a shower and fresh clothes.”

Jughead starts nodding the moment she says Pop's and Sweet Pea is quick to follow. Veronica feels herself beam at them, the bright smile that shows too much emotion. She throws them a kiss before she leaves. She's halfway down the stairs when she hears Sweet Pea's shout: “You still have my shirt!”

Laughing, she calls back: “I know!” She can hear Jughead laugh and smiles, thinking about later already.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are very welcome and you can a virtual cookie for it!  
> (Maybe even a drabble, if you're particularly inspiring.)  
> ❤️


End file.
